Monte Carlo methods and applications for the nuclear shell model

The shell-model Monte Carlo (SMMC) technique transforms the traditional nuclear shell-model problem into a path-integral over auxiliary fields. We describe below the method and its applications to four physics issues: calculations of sdpf- shell nuclei, a discussion of electron-capture rates in pf-shell nuclei, exploration of pairing correlations in unstable nuclei, and level densities in rare earth systems.